Former Disney Film Chief Sean Bailey Launches New entertainment Company, B5, Backed by RedBird Capital
LOS ANGELES, CA – Sean Bailey, former President of Disney Worldwide Production and producer of the recently released Tron: ares, has launched B5, a new entertainment company focused on innovative storytelling and emerging technologies. The venture is backed by RedBird Capital, a private investment firm, and aims to “trailblaze new entertainment formats” alongside films and television series.
Bailey,who oversaw a period of unprecedented success at Disney – including a record-breaking 2019 for The Walt Disney Studios – exited the studio in February 2024 to focus on Tron: Ares,which has already grossed over $124 million worldwide. During his 14-year tenure at Disney, he shepherded blockbuster releases such as Pirates of the Caribbean, beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. He also played a key role in the launch of Disney+ and spearheaded Disney StudioLAB, an innovation hub exploring emerging technologies in storytelling.
“We’re building a company that will not only create compelling films and television series,but also trailblaze new entertainment formats that open doors for storytellers,” Bailey stated.”We have a fantastic slate of artist-driven partnerships and projects in the works, and we can’t wait to share them wiht audiences around the world.”
B5 will benefit from RedBird’s business-building resources, including capital and operating expertise. “I have known Sean for over twenty years, and we have a shared view on how technology can support and further enable the creative community to generate great content, expand formats and reach consumers,” said Gerry Cardinale, Founder and Managing Partner of RedBird.”RedBird will lean into supporting Sean and the exceptional team at B5, bringing our business building resources…to help scale the business.”
Joining Bailey in the venture are producers Jeffrey Springer and Jack Silver. Springer most recently held a long-term overall deal with The Walt Disney Company, producing feature films and consulting across various divisions including television, animation, theme parks, and games. He is known for his work on the Tron franchise, Tim Burton’s Dumbo, and Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion, and served as a resident producer at Disney’s StudioLAB, overseeing projects in AR, VR, and real-time content.
Silver has produced or executive produced 34 films,collectively grossing over $6 billion globally. he is recognized for integrating innovative technologies into film production,with credits including the live-action remakes of The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast,and also The Little Mermaid,300,Terminator: Salvation,and Edge of Tomorrow.
B5’s advisory board boasts a roster of industry leaders, including Pixar Co-founder and former President Ed Catmull, Blumhouse Founder & CEO Jason Blum, Stanford professor Dr. maneesh Agrawala, Caltech professor and Meta AI researcher Dr. Georgia Gkioxari,former Sony Pictures Vice Chair Yair Landau,BCG Senior Advisor Doug Shapiro,and KKR Executive Advisor and Former Chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution Kareem Daniel.
